Positive-drive spiral conveyor

ABSTRACT

A spiral conveyor for positively driving a hinged, modular conveyor belt along a helical path. The spiral conveyor includes a rotating cylindrical tower with parallel drive members extending from the bottom to the top of the tower on its periphery. Each drive member includes an outwardly protruding ridge extending from the bottom to the top of the tower for engaging the inside edges of the belt. In one version, the ridges at the entrance end of the spiral are movable to provide a gradually decreasing spacing between consecutive ridges as the belt enters the spiral. In another version, alignment elements at the entrance end align belt-edge structure with the tip ends of associated ridges to help engagement. In another version, the ridges at a discharge end of the tower are retractable between an extended position driving the belt and a retracted position.

BACKGROUND

The invention relates generally to power-driven conveyors and more particularly to spiral conveyors in which a conveyor belt is positively driven in a helical path around a rotating drive tower.

Conveyor belts are often used to convey articles, such as foodstuffs and other materials, through cooled or heated environments. Spiral conveyors, in which a conveyor belt follows a helical path winding around a central tower, drum, or cage, are used in freezers and ovens to provide a long conveying path with a small footprint.

Some helical conveyors are constructed with a helical track supported on a central non-rotating tower. The conveyor belt is driven around the helical track by drive sprockets at a single location outside the helical path. The maximum tension in the belt, which occurs just ahead of its engagement with the drive sprockets, can be quite high for such a long belt. To reduce the maximum belt tension, overdrive spiral conveyor systems are used. In these overdrive systems, the conveyor belt is driven by frictional contact between the inside edge of the belt and the faster-rotating outer surface of the rotating drum about which the belt is helically wrapped. Because the belt is driven along the entire helical path, the maximum belt tension is decreased. But some tension is still needed for effective frictional engagement between the drum and the belt edge. Furthermore, the frictional engagement causes wear in the belt edge and the outer drum surfaces. Because a large portion of the rotational energy required to drive the drum is lost to friction, the motor and power requirements can be quite high. And, because overdrive systems are sensitive to friction between the outside of the drum and the inside edge of the belt, the proper settings of tension and overdrive vary from installation to installation.

Positively driven spiral systems, in which drive structure on the outside of a rotating cage engages structure on the inside of a conveyor belt, have been used to overcome some of the shortcomings of overdrive systems. Because there is positive engagement between regularly spaced drive structure on the cage and regularly spaced edge structure on the inside edge of the belt, there is no slip as in overdrive systems. No additional tensioning is needed and frictional losses are less. But one problem with positively driven spiral systems is in cleanly engaging the belt with and disengaging it from the drive structure on the cage.

SUMMARY

One version of a spiral conveyor embodying features of the invention comprises a drive tower extending from a bottom to a top and having an outer periphery rotating about a vertical axis. Parallel drive members extend in length from the bottom to the top of the drive tower on the periphery. Each of the drive members includes an entrance segment at the bottom in an upgoing spiral and at the top in a downgoing spiral and a fixed segment. Each segment has an outwardly projecting ridge. The entrance segment is movable relative to the fixed segment to provide a range of spacings between the ridges on consecutive entrance segments.

Another version of a spiral conveyor comprises a drive tower extending from a bottom to a top and having an outer periphery rotating about a vertical axis. Parallel drive members extend in length from the bottom to the top of the drive tower on the periphery. Each of the drive members includes an outwardly projecting ridge that terminates in an entrance tip end at the bottom in an upgoing spiral and at the top in a downgoing spiral. An alignment element is disposed proximate to the tip end to help align a conveyor belt edge to the ridge.

Another version of a spiral conveyor comprises a drive tower extending from a bottom to a top and having an outer periphery rotating about a vertical axis. Parallel drive members extend in length from the bottom to the top of the drive tower on the periphery. Each of the drive members includes a discharge segment at the top in an upgoing spiral and at the bottom in a downgoing spiral and a fixed segment. Each segment has an outwardly projecting ridge. The ridge on the discharge segment is retractable from an extended position for driving a belt edge to a retracted position.

Yet another version of a spiral conveyor comprises a rotating cylindrical drive tower having an outer periphery extending from a bottom to a top with a belt discharge proximate the bottom for a downgoing spiral and proximate the top for an upgoing spiral. Parallel drive members extend in length on the periphery of the drive tower. Each drive member has a ridge projecting radially outward from a bottom end to a top end. A conveyor belt advances up or down in a conveying direction along a helical conveying path around the outer periphery of the rotating cylindrical drive tower. The conveyor belt includes a plurality of rows of belt modules hingedly linked together between consecutive rows along hinge joints defining hinge axes extending perpendicular to the conveying direction from a first side edge of the rows to an opposite second side edge of the rows. The hinge joints have play in the conveying direction to allow the rows to collapse together at the first side edge when the first side edge is at the inside of the helical conveying path. The first side edge includes a series of outwardly extending teeth driven positively by the ridges in the conveying direction along the helical conveying path. A guide disposed proximate to the outer periphery of the drive tower at the discharge strips the conveyor belt from the drive tower.

Still another version of a spiral conveyor comprises a rotating cylindrical drive tower having an outer periphery extending from a bottom to a top with a belt discharge proximate the bottom for a downgoing spiral and proximate the top for an upgoing spiral. Parallel drive members extend in length on the periphery of the drive tower. Each drive member has a ridge projecting radially outward from a bottom end to a top end. A conveyor belt advances up or down in a conveying direction along a helical conveying path around the outer periphery of the rotating cylindrical drive tower. The conveyor belt includes a plurality of rows of belt modules hingedly linked together between consecutive rows along hinge joints defining hinge axes extending perpendicular to the conveying direction from a first side edge of the rows to an opposite second side edge of the rows. The hinge joints have play in the conveying direction to allow the rows to collapse together at the first side edge when the first side edge is at the inside of the helical conveying path. The first side edge includes a series of outwardly extending teeth driven positively by the ridges in the conveying direction along the helical conveying path. A take-up sprocket engages the conveyor belt after the exit from the helical conveying path. A constant-torque motor drives the take-up sprocket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These features of the invention, as well as its advantages, are better understood by referring to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation schematic of a spiral conveyor system embodying features of the invention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are profile and head-on views of a lower segment of the drive members of the drive tower of FIG. 1; and FIG. 2C is a top plan view of the spiral conveyor belt entering the lower segment of the drive members of the drive tower of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are profile and head-on views of an intermediate segment of the drive members of the drive tower of FIG. 1; and

FIGS. 4A and 4B are profile and head-on views of an upper segment of the drive members of the drive tower of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are top and bottom axonometric views of an inside edge of a sideflexing conveyor belt module embodying features of the invention;

FIG. 6 is an axonometric view of the inside edge of another version of a sideflexing conveyor belt module embodying features of the invention;

FIG. 7 is an axonometric view of the inside edge of yet another version of a sideflexing conveyor belt module embodying features of the invention;

FIG. 8 is an axonometric view of the inside edge of still another version of a sideflexing conveyor belt module embodying features of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the inside edge of another version of a sideflexing conveyor belt and the periphery of a drive tower embodying features of the invention;

FIG. 10 is an axonometric view of a portion of the inside edge of a conveyor belt constructed of the modules of FIGS. 5A and 5B;

FIG. 11 is a side elevation view of another spiral conveyor using a modular conveyor belt as in FIGS. 5-8;

FIG. 12 is an oblique view of a portion of a drive member of a spiral conveyor as in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a cross section of the drive member of FIG. 12 taken along lines 13-13;

FIG. 14 is a side elevation view of a portion of the spiral conveyor of FIG. 11 showing the drive tower at the belt entry level;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view at the belt entry level of the spiral conveyor of FIG. 11 showing the initial engagement of the conveyor belt with the drive members;

FIG. 16 is a side elevation view, with a superimposed force diagram, of another version of a spiral drive tower with helical drive bars on the periphery of the tower usable with conveyor belts made of modules as in FIGS. 5-8;

FIGS. 17 and 18 are oblique views of two other versions of drive towers with outwardly extending bottom skirt portions usable with conveyor belts made of modules as in FIGS. 5-8;

FIG. 19 is an isometric view of another version of a drive member at the entrance end of a drive tower as in FIG. 11 embodying features of the invention including an alignment bump;

FIG. 20 is an axonometric view of the drive member of FIG. 19 showing its engagement with a belt edge;

FIG. 21 is an axonometric view of yet another version of a drive member at the entrance end of a drive tower as in FIG. 11 embodying features of the invention including an alignment recess;

FIG. 22 is an axonometric view of the drive member of FIG. 21 showing its engagement with a belt edge;

FIG. 23 is an oblique elevation view of another version of a spiral conveyor embodying features of the invention including hinged drive-bar segments;

FIG. 24 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 23;

FIG. 25 is a schematic of one version of a hinge-activation mechanism for the hinged drive bar of FIG. 23;

FIG. 26 is a side perspective view of a portion of a spiral conveyor as in FIG. 1 or FIG. 11 showing discharge rail at the exit of the drive tower;

FIG. 27 is an axonometric view of one version of a drive member cap having a short, chamfered ridge at the discharge end;

FIG. 28 is a top schematic of one version of a retractable drive-member ridge in an extended state for the discharge end of a spiral conveyor as in FIG. 11 embodying features of the invention; and

FIG. 29 is a top schematic of the retractable drive-member ridge of FIG. 28 in a retracted state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A spiral conveyor is shown schematically in FIG. 1. The spiral conveyor includes a drive tower 10 in the form of a cylindrical drum or cage that is driven to rotate about a vertical axis 12. The rotating tower has a plurality of parallel, generally vertical drive members 14 spaced apart regularly around its periphery 16. Each drive member extends in length between the bottom 18 and the top 19 of the tower. The conveyor belt 20 follows a multi-tiered helical path around the tower. The path is defined by a helical carryway or by a carryway at the bottom and stacker plates mounted on the belt. The inside edge of the belt positively engages the drive members, which drive the belt up the tower as it rotates. The belt travels around various take-up, idle, and feed sprockets 22 as it makes it way from the exit at the top of the tower back to the entrance at the bottom. The take-up sprockets 22′ engage the belt after its exit from the helical path. The sprockets may be driven by a constant-torque motor 23 to prevent speed mismatches between the tower and the take-up motor from causing the belt to bunch up as it exits the helical path. The constant-torque motor auto-adjusts to any speed changes, such as those caused by temperature or other environmental changes. The tower 10 is mounted at its bottom to a base 24 and is rotated by a motor and gears (not shown).

Each of the drive members 14 comprises a generally vertical rail 26, which is affixed at the bottom 18 to a lower ring 27 of the drive tower 10, and a ridge 28 that protrudes outward of the rail, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. The ridge is shown formed on an overlay 32 that covers the outer face 34 of the rail along just about all its length. As shown in FIG. 2C, tabs 36 hold the overlay to the rail. Instead of being formed on an overlay, the ridge could be welded directly onto the rail or formed monolithically with it.

In a lower segment 38 of each drive member, the ridge 28 includes a constant-height region 40 and a tapered region 42. A constant-height region begins at the bottom of the rail and extends upward to the tapered region. The height of the ridge 28 increases from a height h₂ in the constant-height region to a maximum height h₁ at the upper end of the tapered region. In other words, the distance of the ridge 28 from the vertical axis 12 (FIG. 1) of the drive tower increases from a constant distance to a greater distance at the upper end of the tapered region. The constant-height region of the lower segment 38 is angled off vertical relative to a radial plane of the drive tower by an angle α.

The off-vertical orientation and the low height h₂ of the ridge in the bottom portion of the lower segment of the drive tower facilitate the entry of the conveyor belt 20 onto the rotating tower, as shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C. The conveyor belt 20 is shown as a modular plastic conveyor belt constructed of a series of rows of belt modules 44 conventionally interconnected row-to-row by hinge rods (not shown). As the belt advances tangentially in to the rotating tower 10, one of its inside edges 46 may contact one of the ridges 28. As the belt is directed more closely toward the drive tower, the ridge eventually slides off the inside edge and into a gap 48 between adjacent belt rows. The angled orientation of the ridge in the lower segment helps guide the belt into proper engagement as it rides along its inclined helical path 50. By the time the belt reaches the tapered region 42 of the lower segment 38 of the drive members, the ridge has assumed a position just upstream of the inside edge of a belt row. In this position, the driving member is engaged with the inside edge of the belt to positively drive it along the helical path 50 without slip. In the tapered region 42, the ridge gradually increases in height to its maximum height h₁. The gradual increase further aids in the transition of the belt into full positive engagement with the rotating tower, as indicated by the max-height drive member 14′.

The ridge 28 extends out to the maximum height h₁ in an intermediate segment 52 of each drive member 14. In the intermediate segment, the distance of the ridge from the vertical axis 12 (FIG. 1) is constant. The intermediate segment is disposed on the periphery of the drive tower just above the lower segment 38, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. The intermediate segment constitutes the majority of the height of the tower and, consequently, provides most of the driving engagement with the conveyor belt. The intermediate segment may be vertical as shown or slanted off vertical. Just ahead of the belt's exit from the top 19 of the tower 10, the height of the ridge tapers from the maximum height h₁ to zero at the top, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. The tapering occurs in an upper segment 54 of each drive member 14. The top of each rail is affixed to an upper rim 56. The decreasing height of the ridge 28, or its distance from the drive tower's vertical axis, in the upper segment allows the belt to disengage gradually and neatly from the drive members of the rotating tower.

Thus, the spiral conveyor of FIGS. 1-4 positively drives a conveyor belt without overdrive along a helical path with drive members that engage the inside edge of the belt with a ridge that varies in height from the bottom to the top of the rotating spiral drive tower.

An edge belt module 60 shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B can be used to construct a sideflexing conveyor belt with different edge structure from that of the belt 20 of FIG. 2C. The edge module 60 has a tent-shaped tooth 62 attached to a cavity 64 in a side edge 66 of the belt. The tooth is pressed into the cavity 64 from the top side 68 of the module. The head of a screw 70 screwed into a corner of a projection 72 extending from the base 74 of the tooth grabs the bottom side 69 of the module at an inside corner of the cavity to attach the tooth to the module. The tooth can be detached from the module by removing the screw. The projection 72 also partially occludes the module's pivot rod hole 76 to help retain the hinge rod within the belt. In this version of the edge module, the tooth could be inserted from the bottom side 69 instead and retained in the same way. So these teeth can extend upward from the top side 68 or downward from the bottom side 69. The tent-shaped tooth has a pair of guide surfaces 78, 79 that converge with distance from the distal end 80 of the tooth.

Another version of a tooth extending from the inside edge of a belt module is shown in FIG. 6. In this module, a diamond-prism-shaped tooth 82 extends radially outward of the inside edge 84 of the module 86. The diamond-shaped tooth is unitarily molded with the module and has four guide surfaces 88A-D and two vertical drive faces 89A, 89B. It should be clear that the tent-shaped tooth 62 of FIGS. 5A and 5B could be unitarily formed with the edge module and the diamond-shaped tooth of FIG. 6 could be made as a separate piece that can be attached to the module. Another belt module with a unitarily molded tooth is shown in FIG. 7. The belt module 130 has a tooth 132 in the shape of a truncated triangular prism projecting radially outward from an inside edge 134 of the module. Guide surfaces 136, 137 converge from top and bottom surfaces of the module. The base of the triangular prism acts as a drive face 138. The belt module 140 of FIG. 8 has a tooth 142 in the form of a cylindrical oval. The tooth has rounded guide surfaces 145, 146 with opposite drive faces 146, 147 lying between.

A portion of a conveyor belt 90 made of modules having an inside edge as in FIGS. 5A and 5B is shown in FIG. 10. The belt portion shows the modules linked together in rows 92 by hinge rods 93 at hinge joints 94 extending perpendicular to the conveying direction 96. The pitch of the belt is the distance between consecutive hinges. Hinge-rod apertures 98 are elongated in the conveying direction to provide enough play in the conveying direction for the side edge 100 of the belt to collapse at the inside of a turn while the opposite outside edge expands to follow its longer path on an outer radius. Because the belt 90 can be in low tension entering a spiral drive tower, the rows may be collapsed together as shown in FIG. 10. The trailing guide surfaces 79 of the teeth 62 decline from their distal ends 80 toward drive faces 102 facing consecutive trailing modules. The leading guide surfaces 78 of the teeth 62 decline from their distal ends 80 in the opposite direction toward rearward-facing drive faces 102 on consecutive leading modules. Opposite faces 103 on the edges of the belt can be used as drive faces if the belt is operated in the opposite direction.

A spiral drive tower 104 is shown in FIG. 11 with the conveyor belt 90 following a helical path 106 around the periphery of the tower. Vertical drive members 112 extend in length from the top 114 to the bottom 115 of the tower. The drive members are preferably positioned on spacings equal to an integral multiple of the belt pitch for optimal operating characteristics. But they could also be spaced at non-integral multiples of the belt pitch or non-uniformly at differing integral multiples of the belt pitch. Ridges 116 protrude radially outward of the spaced apart drive members 112 from top ends 118 of the ridges to bottom ends 119. In this example, the conveyor is an upgoing spiral rotating in the direction 108 with a helically rising conveying direction 110. The belt initially engages the tower at a belt entry level 120 that is below the bottom ends 119 of the ridges. The belt rides around the tower on a slightly inclined path for about 90° or so, or whatever circumferential arc length is needed for the inside edge of the belt to collapse, before rising to the level of the bottom ends 119 of the ridges 116.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the bottom end 119 of the ridge 116 is tapered. The drive member 112 is a flat strip with the ridge protruding outward along the majority of its length. Grooves 121 in opposite edges of the strip receive the edges of peripheral structure 122 forming the tower's periphery.

The engagement of the conveyor belt with an upgoing spiral is shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. FIG. 14 shows the bottom tier of the conveyor belt engaging the tower below the bottom ends 119 of the ridges 116. The bottom ends of the ridges are indented a vertical distance 124 above the belt entry level 120. In this indented portion of the tower, the inside edge of the belt rides along the tower in frictional contact with the periphery of the tower to give the inside edge of the belt an opportunity to collapse. Eventually the belt 90 rises to the bottom ends 119 of the ridges 116. The distal end 119 of the ridge 116 first contacts the tooth 62 extending upward from the top side 68 of one of the belt rows in one of three places: (a) the leading guide surface 78; (b) the trailing guide surface 79; or (c) the distal end 80. If the initial contact is on the leading guide surface 78, the bottom end 119 of the ridge tends to ride down the leading guide surface and push the row rearward away from the leading row so that the ridge fits between the rows in a position to positively drive the leading row. If the bottom end 119 of the ridge 116 first contacts the trailing guide surface 79, the bottom end slides down the guide surface into the gap between the row and the consecutive trailing row into a position for the leading side 126 of the ridge to impart a driving force against the drive face 102 (FIG. 10) of the row. If the bottom end of the ridge initially contacts the top distal end 80 of the tooth 62, the ridge could slide down either guide surface, depending on friction and any belt tension.

In a downgoing spiral, the operation is analogous. The belt entry level is above the top ends of the ridges at the top of the tower. The ridges are indented below the entry level by a vertical distance sufficient to allow the inside edge of the belt to collapse against the periphery of the tower. The teeth for a belt in a downgoing spiral extend downward from the bottom side of the belt to engage the top ends of the ridges. A conveyor belt constructed of modules as in FIG. 6 with guide surfaces 88A-D directed both up and down and drive faces 89A, 89B or as in FIG. 8 with rounded to and bottom guide surfaces 144, 145 and drive faces 146, 147 could be used in both downgoing and upgoing spirals and driven in either direction. The teeth in FIGS. 6 and 8 are symmetrical about their vertical and horizontal centerlines. The two guide surfaces 136, 137 of the triangular tooth 132 in the module of FIG. 7 allow a conveyor belt constructed of such modules to be driven against its drive face 147 in either an upgoing or a downgoing spiral.

FIG. 9 shows a sideflexing conveyor belt with edge modules 150 that have multiple teeth extending radially outward of each row. Each of the teeth 152, 153 has a leading angled guide surface 154 and a trailing drive face 156 forming a sawtooth shape. Each drive member 158 on the periphery of the drive tower has a plurality of sawtooth-shaped ridges 160 with leading drive sides 162. The guide surfaces 154 guide leading drive sides 162 of the ridges into driving contact with a leading drive face 156. The ridges on the tower are slightly thinner than the teeth on the belt so that they interfit more easily. And the higher tooth density provides the drive tower with more available points of engagement.

Even though the drive members on the peripheries of the drive tower shown in FIGS. 1-4 and in the drive tower shown in FIGS. 11-15 are generally vertical, the drive members could be slanted off vertical as shown in FIG. 16. The drive tower 166 has ridges 168 on its drive members slanted off vertical on the periphery 170 of the tower to form a helical arrangement. A conveyor belt 172 is shown operating as a downgoing spiral along a helical path 174. The belt is constructed with edge modules having teeth as in FIG. 7, i.e., teeth with a face oblique to the conveying direction, preferably at the same angle as the slant of the drive ridges off vertical. The bottom guide surface 136 guides the top end 176 of the drive members into initial contact with the belt edge. The leading edges 178 of the ridges engage the edge modules' top guide surfaces 137, which act as drive surfaces instead. The force diagram superimposed on the tower of FIG. 16 shows that the total force F_(T) applied by the leading side 178 of the slanted ridge 168 against the similarly slanted tooth face 137 (shown enlarged) and acting in a direction normal to the face has a downward vertical component F_(V), which helps hold the inside edge of the conveyor belt down. This obviates the need for the additional hold down structure that would be needed with a conveyor belt entering a spiral drive tower with vertical drive members as in the previous versions. And with the forward-slanted ridges of FIG. 16, the conveyor belt would move faster than the rotation of the drive tower. If the ridges were slanted in reverse, the belt would move slower.

Two other versions of drive towers are shown in FIGS. 17 and 18. The drive tower 180 in FIG. 17 has a cylindrical upper portion 182 and a skirt portion 184 that tapers radially outwardly away from the tower's vertical axis 186 toward the bottom 188 of the tower. The drive tower 190 in FIG. 18 has an upper portion 192 with a first diameter d₁. A skirt portion 194 includes a bottom portion 196 having a second diameter d₂ that is greater than the first diameter d₁ of the upper portion 192. A tapered portion 197 connects the bottom portion 196 to the upper portion 192. (The degree of taper is exaggerated in the drawings.) A conveyor belt entering either of the skirted drive towers from the bottom has some amount of initial tension in the outside edge of the belt. As the inside edge of the conveyor belt begins to collapse as it rides spirally up the skirt portion of the tower, the diameter of the tower decreases slightly in the skirt portion to help relieve the tension in the outside edge of the conveyor belt. For a downward-moving spiral, the tower would be inverted with the portion having the greater diameter d₂ disposed at the top entrance end above the narrower diameter portion.

FIGS. 19 and 20 show an entrance end, in this case, a bottom end, of a drive member 200. A ridge 202, which protrudes radially outward of the drive member, includes an intermediate segment 204 and an entrance segment 206 that is tapered at its distal tip end 208 to form an angled slide surface 210. An alignment element in the form of a bump 212, proximate to and laterally offset from the tip end 208 of the entrance ridge segment 206, protrudes radially outward of the drive member a distance less than the distance the ridge protrudes. The bump 212 is positioned to trail the tip end 208 of the entrance rail segment 206 as the drive tower drives the drive member 200 to the left in FIG. 20, as indicated by arrow 214. When the belt edge module 86 starts to enter its spiral path around the drive tower, its edge tooth 82 is first positioned relative to the tip end 208 of the ridge 200 by the bump 212 to ensure that the tip end and the rounded vertex 216 of the tooth are not coincident. In this way, the guide surface 88 of the tooth 82 can slide along the slide surface 210 of the entrance ridge segment 206 into position against the leading face 218 of the drive bar without catching on the tip end 208 of the ridge 200. Because the entrance segment 206 and the bump 212 are more subject to wear than the rest of the ridge, they can be formed unitarily on an easily replaceable plate 220 that is fastened to the drive member 200 by screws or the like. An alternative alignment element in the form of a recess 213 proximate the tip end 208 of the ridge 200 is shown in FIGS. 21 and 22. The recess 213 has sloped sides 215 that form ramps leading to a central valley 217. If the edge tooth 82 of the belt edge module 86 lines up offset from the tip end 208 of the ridge as the belt is pulled into the spiral, the tooth slides down one of the ramps into the valley 217, which aligns the edge tooth with the ridge so that it slides up the angled slide surface 210 and into position against the leading face 218 of the ridge.

FIGS. 23 and 24 show angled ridges at the spiral entrance ends of drive members 222, as in FIGS. 2A and 2B. Instead of being arranged on the drive tower 223 at a fixed angle as in FIGS. 2A and 2B, entrance segments 224 of the drive members are hinged to allow the hinge angle between the entrance segments and the rest of the ridge 226 to be varied. The adjacent intermediate segments 225 of the drive members are fixed. As shown in FIG. 24, the drive tower 223 advances in the direction of arrow 228. The angles α of the ridges on entrance segments 224 off vertical in planes tangent to the periphery of the drive tower decrease in the direction of rotation of the tower (α₁<α₂). The distance d between drive faces 230 of consecutive ridges on the entrance segments is greater when the belt first encounters the drive members at the entrance tangent point and eventually decreases as the belt wraps farther around the drive tower (d₂>d₁). In that way, the expanded inner belt edges entering the spiral are compressed more and more by the hinged ridges as the belt starts its wrap around the drive tower. One version of a mechanism for adjusting the hinge angle α is illustrated in FIG. 25. Consecutive hinged ridges 232, 232′ are each pivotable about a radial axis of the drive tower at an associated pivot point P below the fixed vertical portion of the ridge 226 in this upgoing spiral. The hinged ridges 232, 232′ are each linked to a cam follower 234, such as a roller, by linkages 236. The cam follower rides in or along a cam guide 238 that has a horizontal portion 240 and a sloped portion 241 at the entrance end of the spiral. The guide is fixed and does not rotate with the ridges on the drive members of the drive tower. The hinge angle α at any azimuthal position around the periphery depends on the height (distance from the entrance) of the guide 238 at that position: the higher the guide, the greater the hinge angle. The height of the guide is greatest just before the belt B first contacts the drive members as it enters the spiral. The hinged ridge 232′ is angled off vertical so that its hinge angle α is a maximum. Because the hinged ridge 232′ is angled off vertical more than the leading hinge ridge 232, the spacing, or distance d, between consecutive contact points with the belt is greater by the distance Δd than if the consecutive hinged ridges were at the same angle as in the fixed segment. This increased distance between contact points better accommodates the expanded inside edge of the belt. As the sloped portion 241 of the guide declines, the hinged ridges pivot forward and compress the inside edge of the belt more and more. A translating mechanism, rather than a pivoting mechanism, that translates the entrance segments circumferentially along the periphery of the drive tower could be used instead to provide the varying spacing between the ridges on consecutive movable entrance segments that smoothes the entry of the belt onto the spiral. At the discharge end of the spiral tower 223, a guide, such as a shoe, one or more rollers, or a rail 242 proximate to the periphery of the drive tower at the discharge strips the positively driven belt B from the drive members 222, as shown in FIG. 26.

FIG. 27 shows a cap 231 that fits over a drive member (not shown). A ridge 233 is formed on the cap. The discharge end 235 of the ridge extends radially outward from the drive tower a distance less than that of the lower section of the ridge 233 and includes a chamfered edge 237. A ridge at the discharge that is short or has a chamfered edge helps the belt release from the drive tower.

FIGS. 28 and 29 show the operation of a retractable drive-member ridge 244 at the discharge end of a drive tower 246. (For simplicity, only one ridge is shown.) The ridge 244 is pivotally attached to the drive tower at a pivot 248. The ridge normally protrudes perpendicularly outward of the tower. A biasing means, such as a light spring 250 attached at one end to an interior arm 252 of the drive member and at the opposite end to drive-tower structure, tends to pivot the ridge clockwise in FIG. 28 against a stop 254. In this extended state, the ridge extends perpendicularly outward from the tower to positively drive an inside-edge tooth 256 of a belt. When the belt reaches the discharge tangent point at which the belt disengages from the drive members of the drive tower, the belt's inside edge has to expand rapidly. During this expansion, the teeth can pull forward and run into the back of the drive-member ridge 244. The collisions cause loud clicking sounds and could damage the belt or shake the conveyed product. The retractable ridge 244 is pushed forward into a retractable state by a belt-edge tooth 256. The force of the tooth is sufficient to overcome the restraining force of the stretched spring 250 and to pivot the ridge counterclockwise away from the stop 254 as shown in FIG. 29 so that the belt edge can pass by without catching on the ridge.

Thus, the spiral conveyors of FIGS. 1-29 positively drive a conveyor belt without overdrive along a helical path with drive members that engage the inside edge of the belt with a ridge that is initially guided into a driving position against a drive face on the belt. And the spiral conveyor system also allows the use of belts whose inside turn radius does not match the radius of the drive tower. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A spiral conveyor comprising: a drive tower having a bottom and a top and having an outer periphery extending from the bottom to the top and rotating about a vertical axis; a plurality of parallel drive rails extending in length from the bottom to the top of the drive tower on the periphery; wherein each of the drive rails includes an entrance segment at the bottom in an upgoing spiral and at the top in a downgoing spiral and a fixed segment, each segment having a radially outwardly projecting ridge, wherein the entrance segment is movable relative to the fixed segment to provide a range of spacings between the ridges on consecutive entrance segments.
 2. A spiral conveyor as in claim 1 wherein the entrance segment translates circumferentially along the periphery of the drive tower.
 3. A spiral conveyor as in claim 1 wherein the entrance segment pivots about a radial axis of the drive tower.
 4. A spiral conveyor as in claim 1 wherein the entrance segment includes a pivot and a cam follower.
 5. A spiral conveyor as in claim 4 further comprising a cam guide disposed along the periphery of the drive tower and followed by the cam follower to cause the entrance segment to pivot on the pivot and change the angle of the ridge on the entrance segment.
 6. A spiral conveyor comprising: a drive tower having a bottom and a top and having an outer periphery extending from the bottom to the top and rotating about a vertical axis; a plurality of parallel drive rails extending in length from the bottom to the top of the drive tower on the periphery; wherein each of the drive rails includes an outwardly projecting ridge that terminates in an entrance tip end at the bottom in an upgoing spiral and at the top in a downgoing spiral and an alignment element disposed proximate to the tip end to help align a conveyor belt edge to the ridge.
 7. A spiral conveyor as in claim 6 wherein the alignment element is a bump that extends radially outward from the drive rail a distance less than the ridge.
 8. A spiral conveyor as in claim 6 wherein the alignment element is a recess in the drive rail.
 9. A spiral conveyor as in claim 8 wherein the recess is bounded by sloping sides and a central valley.
 10. A spiral conveyor as in claim 6 wherein the tip end of the ridge and the alignment element are unitarily formed on a replaceable member.
 11. A spiral conveyor comprising: a drive tower having a bottom and a top and having an outer periphery extending from the bottom to the top and rotating about a vertical axis; a plurality of parallel drive rails extending in length from the bottom to the top of the drive tower on the periphery; wherein each of the drive rails includes a discharge segment at the top in an upgoing spiral and at the bottom in a downgoing spiral and a fixed segment, each segment having an outwardly projecting ridge, wherein the ridge on the discharge segment is retractable from an extended position for driving a belt edge to a retracted position.
 12. A spiral conveyor as in claim 11 further including a stop contacting the discharge segment to support the ridge on the discharge segment when the ridge is in the extended position and driving a belt edge.
 13. A spiral conveyor as in claim 11 further including a spring biasing the ridge on the discharge segment into the extended position.
 14. A spiral conveyor as in claim 13 wherein the spring is a light spring that allows a belt edge moving faster than the discharge portion of the drive rail and contacting the ridge to overcome the spring force and push the ridge into the retracted position.
 15. A spiral conveyor as in claim 11 further including a pivot for pivoting the ridge on the discharge segment between the extended and retracted positions.
 16. A spiral conveyor comprising: a rotating cylindrical drive tower having a bottom and a top and an outer periphery extending from the bottom to the top with a belt discharge proximate the bottom for a downgoing spiral or proximate the top for an upgoing spiral; a plurality of parallel drive rails extending in length on the periphery of the drive tower, each having a bottom end and a top end and a ridge projecting radially outward from the bottom end to the top end; a conveyor belt advancing up or down in a conveying direction along a helical conveying path around the outer periphery of the rotating cylindrical drive tower, the conveyor belt including a plurality of rows of belt modules hingedly linked together between consecutive rows along hinge joints defining hinge axes extending perpendicular to the conveying direction from a first side edge of the rows to an opposite second side edge of the rows, wherein the hinge joints have play in the conveying direction to allow the rows to collapse together at the first side edge when the first side edge is at the inside of the helical conveying path, the first side edge including a series of radially or vertically outwardly extending teeth driven positively by the ridges in the conveying direction along the helical conveying path; and a guide having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is disposed between the top and bottom ends of the drive rails proximate to the outer periphery of the drive tower at the discharge and wherein the second end diverges from the outer periphery of the drive tower for the guide to strip the conveyor belt away from the drive rails of the drive tower.
 17. A spiral conveyor as in claim 16 wherein the ridge on the drive rails has a chamfered edge at the belt discharge end. 